Dear White People: The Super Bowl Halftime Show Wasn’t Too Sexy, You’re Just Racist
The Super Bowl Halftime Show, which featured Shakira and Jennifer Lopez, is sure pissing off a lot of white people
Photo: Unsplash/@dhamp15
The Super Bowl Halftime Show, which featured Shakira and Jennifer Lopez, is sure pissing off a lot of white people. For the most part, the conversation on social media is that these Latinas presented a show that was over-sexualized. It’s majorly hypocritical for people to be appalled over the show because it was too sexy yet wouldn’t care if Taylor Swift wore on that stage wearing a skimpy outfit or furthermore support the President of the United States who admittedly grabs women by the pussy.
Franklin Graham, the eldest son of the late preacher Billy Graham, tweeted yesterday, “I don’t expect the world to act like the church, but our country has had a sense of moral decency on prime time TV in order to protect children. We see that disappearing before our eyes. It was demonstrated in tonight’s @Pepsi #SuperBowl Halftime Show—w/millions of kids watching.”
Franklin is also a noted Donald Trump supporter who was just banned from speaking at a London event because of his support of the President and anti-LGBT views.
https://twitter.com/dvdrbrt/status/1224361227041660928
It’s pretty laughable to hear the outrage by some white people over the stellar performances of Shakira and Lopez mainly because if white performers were to do the same thing, they wouldn’t have any issue with it.
Lady Gaga performed at the Super Bowl in 2017 and wore a bodysuit costume and showed off her midriff and no one cared. Shakira shook her hips because that is the title of her hit song. And, yes, J.Lo danced on a stripper pole because her film Hustlers featured her as a stripper. That film went on to gross more than $157.6 million worldwide and earned her tons of critical acclaim and award nominations. Both of these women are successful Latina artists internationally because people love what they bring to the table. That’s why they were asked to perform during the Super Bowl Halftime Show. Did people really think that these women would be covered up head-to-toe and not dancing?
me smiling at all the racists who hated the halftime show https://t.co/OVO5CszXNZ
— yohanna (@yohannaaa___) February 3, 2020
The vitriol on social media regarding this show, particularly from Trump supporters, is ridiculous because we know they back a sexist and racist president.
Journalist Garrett M. Graff tweeted, “The Venn diagram of people who complained about the indecency of the NFL halftime show and people who intend to vote to re-elect Donald Trump, a crude, thrice-married man—credibly accused of sexual assault—who paid hush money to a porn star to cover up their affair is a circle.”
Trump supporters complaining that the #HalftimeShow2020 represents the “pornification” of America can go watch a Stormy Daniels movie.
— The Daily Edge (@TheDailyEdge) February 3, 2020
So, to the people complaining over this show, where do you draw the line of moral decency? It’s OK for your President to behave like a sexist, racist jerk and boast of grabbing women by their “p*ssys,” yet the idea of two Latinas dancing on stage is too much for you. You’re OK with watching men bash into each other as a sport causing severe damage to their brain, yet J.Lo on a strip pole is too much for you to handle?
We have seen this kind of racist hatred before. In 2016, Beyonce faced her own backlash for her social justice performance that brought attention to the Black Lives Matter movement. As you may also recall, Janet Jackson was blacklisted for years after her Super Bowl Halftime Show in 2004 after her nipple was exposed, while Justin Timberlake, who did the exposing, got off scot-free. Why is it that only women of color garner such criticism over their performances?
Trump and Maga supporters after seeing the puertorican flag and latino rep in the halftime show #HalftimeShow2020 pic.twitter.com/fL7t8AF6T1
— seba (@s_mxrtinez) February 3, 2020
It’s fascinating and infuriating to see Trump supporters be up in arms about decency and female exploitation while having no qualms about supporting a president who represents just that. And for the haters that say this kind of show goes against the Me Too movement, you should know women have the right to dance and wear whatever they want, whenever they want. That doesn’t give anyone permission to take advantage of them. Too bad Trump doesn’t understand the difference.
What I saw last night was two incredibly talented Latinas share a performance that highlighted traditional Afro-Colombian dance, uplifted the people of Puerto Rico, and put the current administration’s inhumane family separation immigration policy on center stage. It’s sad that there are people out there who have nothing better to do than to try to tear people down who are just being proud of who they are.
